His Bodyguard
by SailorKickass270
Summary: Lelouch sings. He's a star in the eyes of many and his goal is to use his music to patch up the broken relationship between the Japanese and Britannians that began back in 2010 when Britannia stole Japan's freedom for it's own gains. Suzaku guards. He does this to repay Lelouch for saving his life years ago. For these two, trouble brews and a friendship grows...into more? SuzaLulu!
1. Chapter 1: Memories Part 1

**Just to let you guys know; this story seems like its following the storyline of CG, it's not. You'll see. In this fanfiction, Lelouch can sing! :o No way! Yep. He sings. This is a SuzaLulu, with a plot. **

**OMG! A plot?! No way! Yep. A plot. XD**

**This chapter and some of chapter two will show how the whole bodyguard thing got started and then we'll go to the real stuff x3 Bear with me!**

**Also: I don't own Code Geass or it's characters. But we all know this.**

**To the story!**

* * *

In the year 2005, Lelouch Vi Britannia, was five years old when he started taking singing lessons.

Marianne Vi Britannia, the mother of Lelouch and Nunnally and the fifth wife of Emperor Charles Zi Britannia, wanted him to do so. Each one of the imperial children, including his many half-siblings, had a special talent. Odysseus could play the violin, Schneizel's vocabulary and writing skills surpassed his young age, Cornelia and Euphemia liked to design dresses and other elegant clothing, Nunnally played the piano…but what about Lelouch?

He was a quick learner. Sure that was a talent, but the empress wanted more to look at.

Nobody could sing.

And Marianne loved music with a beautiful voice to accompany it.

So Lelouch learned to do just that, and it wasn't long until his voice could bring an adult to tears. Soon, he grew tired of singing songs everyone knew. He wanted to make his own lyrics and his own music. Thus, he cooperated with Odysseus the violinist, Nunnally the pianist, and Schneizel the writer. And in the years that followed, they performed in little parties, meetings and more, much to the approval of Marianne, Charles, the guests who had the privilege to listen, and the other wives of the children.

This continued, and Lelouch never realized what was happening in the world beyond his.

* * *

In the year 2010, Britannia invaded Japan.

While they had just wanted their Sakuradite resources in order to support the new Knightmare Frame technology, Emperor Charles thought of something else instead. With the country growing richer by the second, majority of the population was loaded with cash, and the demand for servants became stronger. Not only this, but with the power growing as well, Britannia seemed to be making more and more enemies too, thus he decision was final. The ruler ordered the invading soldiers to abduct all children, and adults who could work and labor. If they didn't meet these principles, they were forced to help in taking the Sakuradite to ships and then were wrongfully executed.

Japanese people were shoved onto the ships and into cramped areas where they were given little food and water. It was terrible, and though everyone only wallowed in despair throughout the long days, a little boy with curly brown hair by the name of Suzaku Kururugi swallowed his anguish and waited patiently in anger.

* * *

"They're here!" Nunnally called, running into the dining room where most of the children sat, a giant, unfinished jigsaw puzzle on the table in front of them. "The boat is finally here and it's not too far from home!" Everyone looked up at her with a confused expression, except for the reading Schneizel and Odysseus.

Odysseus appeared to be focusing intently on the puzzle as he reached for another piece. "You should hold your dress up when you're running. It's long and you're only picking up who knows what off the ground with it. Those maids of ours probably don't sweep the floor everyday like they should."

Nunnally fumed. "I- I…! …come on, don't you guys want to see all the Japanese people?"

Euphemia stood up. "Did you say British people?" The girl picked up her dress, running towards her half-sibling. "The British are coming, the British are coming!" She was stopped by Nunnally.

"We're British, Euphy…And I said Japanese! You know from Japan!"

"…is that where they say things like, yee-haw and down yonder?"

Schneizel blinked, looking up from his book. "That's Texans and that's very stereotypical. They're not cowboys anymore, they're modernized now. But what are you talking about, Nunnally? What boat?"

"And why would they have Japanese people on there?" Lelouch inquired.

She shrugged innocently. "I don't know. But I was walking down the hall and two of the maids were watching the live news, and a reporter persons-"

"-person," Schneizel corrected.

"-person was on the port that we always play at, saying that the Japanese people have arrived and there was ships docking right behind her!"

Euphemia hurried over to Cornelia and grabbed the other princess's hand, yanking her out of the chair. "Come on, Cornelia! I want to go see Japanese people!" They ran past Nunnally, who started to turn to follow. She grasped the ruffles of her dress and raised it before going to catch up to them. "Wait for me!"

The brothers watched them leave, and seconds later, Lelouch sighed and stood.

"You're not that interested in Japanese people, are you?" Odysseus asked him.

"Not really," the raven haired boy murmured. "But I don't trust those three alone."

* * *

Nunnally had a big imagination and she enjoyed playing pretend.

_She's lying,_ Lelouch figured. Turns out, he was wrong.

A large group of Britannians were stationed at the docks when he got there, watching in awe as soldiers marched them in the direction of the military base. Lelouch looked around, but there was no sign of his siblings from what he could see. Pulling the hood of his jacket over his head, he started pushing through the crowd, hoping to find them somewhere. He had no luck, but managed to get to the front. And his eyes widened at the sight before him.

Japanese people were being herded in one line from the ships, each one restrained by handcuffs. He didn't see any children, they were all adults; very miserable and broken-looking adults. Lelouch found his curiosity getting the best of him and his real reason for being here slipped from his mind as he continued to stare. He could hear whispers coming from the Britannians behind him.

"…they look dirty."

"…been on that ship for God knows how long."

"…poor things. They probably smell like animals now."

"Ugh…"

"Those are the famous Japanese people…? Will they even understand us if we speak to them?"

"They don't learn the English Language over there?"

"I wonder why the Emperor would even bring them here. Didn't we only need the Sakuradite?"

Lelouch's fists balled up. He didn't like this and he wanted to leave. He wanted to believe that his parents had nothing to do with this, but if the military obeyed... Why would Charles force people from their home country? What's his purpose and what does he hope to accomplish by doing this?

"…Always though Emperor Charles seemed shifty…"

Lelouch slid his hands into his hood, covering his ears and closing his eyes.

"HEY! STOP CRYING YOU BABY!"

The loud voice made Lelouch look up and uncover his ears. They must have been separated by age because he now watched handcuffed children before him. A small Japanese girl who appeared to be seven or eight years old was screaming and sobbing. One of her arms were being roughly yanked by a soldier, and she had her head turned away from him, but didn't seem to be resisting, just crying.

He shook her violently. "SHUT UP!"

She only cried more.

"Kid, you get back in line!" Another voice of a soldier called out.

In the following seconds, a Japanese boy with brown hair, a black and white kimono and sharp emerald-colored eyes came running in out of nowhere. He stopped beside the soldier and the little girl.

"Excuse me?"

The soldier momentarily released the small child and looked down at him. "What are you doing out of line? Get back to your spot before I shoot you right here and-"

He didn't get to finish.

The Japanese boy, despite the kimono, gave him a strong and high kick to the stomach, seeming unbothered by the armor. The man was knocked to the ground and two other soldiers joined in, holding the boy by the arms even though they were cuffed together like his legs should have been.

Lelouch was impressed and stared in astonishment.

The ambushed soldier got to his feet and angrily pulled out the gun that rested in its holster, pressing the nose right against the boy's forehead. "I should just shoot you right now."

The brown haired boy blinked, unfazed by the weapon or the coolness of its muzzle against his darker shaded skin. "Okay. It's a hell of a lot better than working for people like you."

There was a click.

Lelouch shuddered. Why was he still watching? This kid was about to get killed.

One of the other soldiers murmured. "We weren't given permission to kill children who can work…"

Lelouch bit his lip.

"Nor were we given orders that we could not," retorted the one who held the boy at gun point.

And then Lelouch was suddenly running towards them. His hand went up and he pulled down his hood.

"STOP!"

Everyone's attention turned to him, and the soldier with the gun dropped his arm to his side.

Whispers.

"Is that…?"

"I think so…"

"…What's he doing here?"

The two soldiers holding the boy both dropped their arms quickly at the realization.

"Prince Lelouch, what are you doing here?" The soldier asked.

"Don't change the subject," the raven haired boy snapped. "What's your name?"

"Karl-"

"Karl what?"

"Karl Piers."

Lelouch tried not to smile. He really had this man nervous now. "I have your name memorized, Karl Piers," he said, pointing to his head. "If I hear about anything bad happening to that boy, I'll report you to my father. I'm sure both him and Britannia will take my words over yours."

"Understood…" With a nod and a bow, the soldier turned around to see that all the Japanese people had stopped to watch. The line hadn't been moving. "What are you waiting for? MOVE!"

They started to move again, and the Japanese boy looked at Lelouch.

They made eye contact.

And he flashed the Prince a respectful smile before walking after the small girl.

* * *

When Lelouch turned thirteen, three years after the Japanese people had been forced from Japan; problems arose when it came to safety. Cornelia and Euphemia had been at an ice cream parlor when a group of Japanese thugs took over and held hostage both them and nine other Britannians. Though surrounded by military soldiers and police, they were unable to infiltrate for they were threatened with the lives of the princesses. The men had wanted over a million dollars in cash in exchange for the girls and would have gotten it too if the owner hadn't of managed to slip out and show the soldiers a way in from the back which the Japanese men had not known about.

This was a wakeup call, not only for Lelouch and the other imperial children, but for Marianne and Charles as well. They realized that their kids were being targeted for their decisions and while discussing plans for a bodyguard to be assigned to each child, Lelouch happened to be walking by.

The door was cracked open just a bit and at the mention of his name, the prince froze and listened.

He couldn't make out everything that was being said since they were whispering, but he heard enough to understand.

"…dangerous out there…bodyguard…Japanese people…" _Marianne._

"…call them Elevens…don't think they'd want a…Lelouch especially…" _Charles._

"…I don't care…safety comes first…don't want them to be hurt…for the best…"

"Lelouch," Charles called.

Marianne sighed. "Yes, we know you're listening. Come in here, dear."

Surprised, the raven haired boy quietly pushed open the door and walked into the study. Charles sat down behind his desk and Marianne stood beside him. When they noticed him remaining by the entrance, the empress motioned him to come closer which he did.

There was an open book on the desk, one they must have been looking at, and Marianne pushed it towards her son gently. "Listen Lelouch," she said softly. "We know you may not want someone to be guarding you…but times are rough now and you know that, right?"

He nodded slowly.

"That ice cream parlor incident was no coincidence. The Elevens are trying to get back at us…and they target you and your siblings to make things easier on their part."

Lelouch hadn't learned what Elevens were yet and he raised an eyebrow. "Elevens?"

"It's a new name for Japanese people that I came up with…I haven't made it public yet but-"

Marianne cut off Charles. "Anyway just look at these people, honey. We've documented every Japanese person who's gone through training." She reached over and turned a few pages. "This section is full of the kids who've trained. We figured you'd want someone your age instead of an adult."

"You mean you, not we. I still think an adult would be much safer." Charles retorted.

"Ignore your father. It's up to you, Lelouch."

The Britannian prince scanned the first couple of pages, but didn't find anyone interesting. He didn't want a guard at all, but it seemed like he had no say in the matter. He continued looking until his eyes fell upon a very familiar face. Brown, curly hair, green eyes, the same unfazed expression.

Then Lelouch pieced it together.

It was that boy from three years ago; the one who had the guts to kick a soldier for the sake of a little girl and the one he had rescued from being shot.

Suzaku Kururugi was his name, huh?

Lelouch peered up at his parents and pointed at the picture.

"Suzaku Kururugi…?" Marianne murmured.

"I heard that boy is crazy…" Emperor Charles chuckled. "Good choice. The crazier they are; the better."

* * *

**Sorry. Meant to make this chapter a little bit longer, but I want to see how much interest this story gets xD I may upload chapter 2 tomorrow, if I have time. I've always tried to keep from balancing two stories at the same time (though technically I'm still working on Sucked In…maybe) …let's see how this works out XD everyone I present to you! The start of His Bodyguard! :D**

**I also skimmed over it. So mistakes may have been present. Deal with it! I'll fix it later! :P**

**Now review for me! **

**Do it!**

**GO!**

**Shoo! ._.**


	2. Chapter 2: Memories Part 2

**Answering to reviews! **

**Yuzuki Inohara****:**** XD yep! Marianne, I was kinda just like….neh…be a mother. Hjaebhajdbhjbfhje! Charles….you're a dad…GDYEHGBDHYEJj. If I stick to the plot I have now, they'll be in far later chapters and they'll be mean then xD Thank you though!**

**ao-mido: Thank ya kindly! *tips imaginary hat* X3 and well, you'll like this chapter then :P**

**Guest: I appreciate your review! And NO….thank you ;D**

**pft980811: That a promise? ;) I love necklaces!**

**Lelouchvibritt1: Your wish is my command! *scrolls down* well what do you know?! Another update :P and I love your profile picture o_o**

**LeAwesomeOne IX: Well my next update for NEKO…I hope will be soon. But I am WARNING you. No, I'm warning EVERYONE who is reading NEKO….Suzaku is screwed. Issac is going to screw him over. That's why you don't drink coffee at coffee shops when the person serving you is named Mao. Anyway…I find it weird how I'm talking about a whole different story on here. Okay….stop. Stahp! ._.**

**You all also know I don't own CG, etc, etc. BUT! I also do NOT own the awesome song/lyrics sung by Lelouch in this chapter. Later ones may be my own random lyrics, but this one is not because I was too lazy to come up with any at the time and I have an obsession with this song... .**

**The lyrics are italicized (both the English and the Romaji/original lyrics)**

**Song: GLIDE**

**Vocal: Lily**

**Music: Niki**

**And sorry for the late update! This is an extremely long chapter since I had trouble finding spots to end it at. That's the one thing I suck at doing….that's probably why I do so many cliffies. XD**

* * *

Euphemia snuggled comfortably into her seat beside Odysseus and Cornelia. "Sing the one I like!" She said excitedly, turning to Lelouch who started to open his mouth in protest. "Please!"

From his chair next to Nunnally and her piano, Schneizel shook his head. "The lyrics aren't even complete yet. We could do-"

"Noooooo~!" Moaned little Euphy. "I really want to hear Glide!"

"Okay, okay," Lelouch countered, just hoping for the girl to be quiet. The last thing he wanted was a whining Euphy; a normal human being could probably only take so much of it before their heads exploded. Alright, maybe that was just a bit of an exaggeration. Just a bit.

He glanced over to Nunnally and she nodded, starting to play the piano; her eyes mostly on the sheet of music than the keys itself. She knew the piano that well as she had been playing it for years now.

There was a intro to the song, and Lelouch had to wait. While he did, the others waited too, but not as patiently as Lelouch did.

"_Counting the number of your shattered memories, as you recall them, what will you be singing? Once again I am drawing a fairy land in which you will slowly become lost…" _He caught Schneizel make a turning gesture with his hand and point to his mouth.

Lelouch paused uncertainly. He had only just learned this, and had to think for a bit, but luckily the song was starting to transition into the chorus, giving him a few seconds. He opened his mouth. "_Fushigi na mahout kakete!" _ Odysseus blinked quite rapidly at the sudden change in language, but it still flowed into the song that Nunnally relayed from the piano. Euphemia leaned forward and her mouth gaped a little at her half-brother. "_Yogoreta doresu kisete!" _The older Cornelia looked impressed. _"Amai_ _namida…."_ Lelouch trailed off, and Nunnally's fingers pulled away from the keys. _"Amai namida…"_

They all looked at him, frowning.

"Why'd you stop?" Euphemia asked.

"I forgot the rest…"

Nunnally smiled at him reassuringly. "You did great for the first time singing it along with my piano! It's hard to learn a new language and try to sing in it."

Cornelia sat forward. "How'd you learn to sing in Japanese?"

"I wanted to learn too!" Euphy shrieked, childishly pouting despite her older age of 11. "You've been teaching brother Japanese behind my back so you wouldn't have to deal with me, huh Schneizel?" The girl rose from her seat, stomped over and started throwing little baby punches at his shoulder. "Take that! And this!"

Schneizel seemed unbothered by her. "We used the cheat-cheat way out. One can read Japanese without actually knowing the language if it's written in one of the other three forms; which in our case, we used Romaji."

Euphy, who had been repeated punching and shouting, "take this and that," now looked up. "Did I just hear Raman noodles?!"

The doorbell rang.

"I got it, I got it!" Euphemia shouted to nobody in particular, running out of the music room. It was a rule in their home that only the maids or adults could open the door, and so an annoyed Lelouch and his other siblings chased after the pink-haired princess, calling and pleading her not to open the door.

Unfortunately, she was much faster than them and by the time they reached her, she was looking outside to a tall man. As they got closer, it turned out to be a Britannian soldier.

"Where's your mother?" He was asking her.

"She's not…"

"Little miss Euphemia Li Britannia! No! All of you! What are you doing, opening the door like that! You know the rules good and well, don't you?" Someone snapped. A maid was making her way down the hall and now stopped in front of them. She roughly grabbed Euphemia by the soldiers and pulled her out of the way. "I'm so very sorry about the children…now what did you need?"

"Is Empress Marianne present at the moment?"

"No sir, t's only us maids and the children here right now."

The soldier turned to peer over his shoulder before gesturing someone to come forward. "Well, the Empress claimed Suzaku Kururugi as a bodyguard child. We have him with us now…but someone will have to sign for us to hand him over." The man once again looked behind him. "Go on."

Cautiously a Japanese boy inched past the soldier and into the mansion. Lelouch noticed him right away. That was definitely the boy from three years ago and the same one he picked to be his bodyguard; Suzaku Kururugi. His face and the navy blue jumpsuit were a little filthy as if he had been crawling around in the dirt. The brown head of hair he had was somewhat messy, and his emerald eyes; a little dull and lifeless. A frown was formed on his lips and in his hands, he held a bag; maybe full of clothing and other stuff he'd need.

Lelouch thought he looked different; it wasn't that he seemed older though, he just seemed…broken.

The maid glanced down at him before replying to the soldier, "I suppose I'll sign for him," she said coolly. As she followed him out the door, she called over her shoulder, "get him settled and cleaned! I'll be right back!"

Once alone, an awkward pause followed and Nunnally was the one to break it. She reached out towards Suzaku and offered him a welcoming smile. "I could take your bag for you, if that's okay."

He shrunk away from her advance and his jaw clenched. "…."

Lelouch frowned.

"…D-Did I scare you?" Nunnally asked softly.

"Of course you did," Schneizel retorted dismissively. "His kind has every right to be afraid of ours. We took away everything from them. It's a waste of time to try to befriend him." He turned away and started to head back upstairs. "You deal with him, Lelouch. He's your darn bodyguard anyway."

* * *

Suzaku didn't do much or say anything. He was spoken to by the children but he never said a word, and Lelouch wondered just what he had gone through. Three years ago, he dared to stand up against an adult twice his size. A gun was pressed against his forehead, yet he didn't cringe and even had the nerve to say something that could've resulted in a bullet to his head. But now, he was shattered. It was as if you dropped a piece of glass and it didn't split, but a crack was left on it. Suzaku was still here, but he was fragmented.

Eventually, Nunnally had managed to take Suzaku's bag from him and she left it in Lelouch's room. After introductions, the children split into groups. Euphemia, Nunnally and Cornelia went into the kitchen to make something to eat for the Japanese boy while Odysseus and Schneizel rummaged through their closets to find clothing that may fit him. Lelouch was left with the toughest job; cleaning him.

The raven-haired boy dragged him all the way to his room and into the adjacent bathroom. He started running a bath and while he waited for it, grabbed a wet washcloth and started to wipe the dirt from the boy's face. Lelouch decided to try to get him to talk too.

"How'd you get all this dirt on your face anyway?"

No answer.

"Suzaku?"

Silence.

"Suzaku, why won't you talk to me? Remember three years ago, when you smiled at me? Why won't you smile like that now?" Nothing. Lelouch sighed. "I mean…wherever you were…it may not have been a good place, but here it'll be different. Everyone welcomed you and we want to be your friends."

No response.

"You know what?" Lelouch murmured. "I want to hear you say my name. Say it. Le-lou-ch. Just like that. Can you do that for me, Suzaku? It may be a weird name, but it's not hard to say at all."

Suzaku's emerald eyes started to widen. "…Lelouch…"

"There we go!"

"No…Lelouch!"

"Alright," the Britannian boy mumbled, continuing to wipe the boy's face. "Once is good enough for me, but I appreciate it anyway."

"No… look, Lelouch!" Suzaku grabbed the prince by the shoulders and spun him around. The bathtub was beginning to overflow. Frantically, Lelouch hurried over and stopped the running water just as it started to leak over the edge and pour onto the floor.

* * *

As the evening progressed, things went smoother.

Lelouch was happy to find his siblings interested in the quiet Japanese boy. He wanted his new bodyguard to be as comfortable as possible. After cleaning himself up, he was shown around and properly introduced to Lelouch's brothers and sisters in the kitchen as Cornelia and Euphemia cooked with the help of a few maids. As they waited, Schneizel found himself relaying all his knowledge on the Japanese culture to Suzaku, most of which the boy had already known. Nunnally stood behind him, messing with the curls of his hair by winding and unwinding them around her fingers. She said she appreciated naturally curly hair over forced curly hair and even asked him if she could comb it. Odysseus bombarded him with questions about Japan in which Suzaku only nodded, shook his head, or murmured little words like, "sort of," or "I guess," but was mostly saved by Schneizel who answered in the forms of long paragraphs, being so descriptive that Odysseus and even Lelouch rolled their eyes, hoping he'd shut his mouth soon.

"I present to you, Suzaku Kururugi-senpai," Euphemia announced, whispering under her breath that she hoped she would allow her to call him as such before placing a plate of food covered by a napkin in front of him. "Euphemia and Cornelia Li Britannia's," she took an unneeded and dramatic intake of air. "Homemade Macaroni and Cheese!" She then pulled off the napkin and threw it upwards, and it floated down beside Cornelia who asked, "Was I supposed to catch that?"

Euphy quickly shushed her, smiling at Suzaku as he eyed the yellow food. "Well?"

"…"

She took his hand and placed a fork into it. "There you go!"

His fingers didn't wrap around the utensil enough and it fell to the ground with a metal clunk.

"Have you never seen macaroni and cheese before?" Schneizel questioned.

Both Nunnally and Lelouch, by coincidence, smacked his shoulders hard in unison.

"Ow!"

The brunette pushed his chair back.

"Suzaku, are you okay?" Lelouch asked softly as the boy rose from his seat, eyed the food and little longer and then abruptly ran out of the room. "Suzaku!"

The raven haired boy got up from his chair too and started to follow in pursuit. The other siblings were almost about to follow as well, but Nunnally told them to not to.

"I'm sure Suzaku would be much more open to us on his own time. There's no point in all of us being nosy right now."

Lelouch figured there was only one place Suzaku would have run to, and his theory turned out to be correct. The Japanese boy had locked himself in Lelouch's bathroom.

"Open up the door, Suzaku!"

"No!" Came the response.

"Please, Suzaku. I can help you if you just talk to me."

"Leave me alone!"

This time, Lelouch decided to take a different approach. "Open up the door, right now!" He demanded rather rudely, speaking in a tone that made Suzaku jump a little.

No reply of rejection came after that and Lelouch wondered if it was working.

"Suzaku Kururugi, you better listen to me! You belong to me now and you have to do what I say!" He tried thinking of ways to threaten him. "Or else…or else I'll-"

The door opened, and Lelouch backed up, surprised.

A teary-eyed Suzaku stood before him. He lowered his head and bowed. "Please accept my apology."

"Apology for what?"

"For being rude," he said, "to both you and your siblings." He still hadn't straightened up.

"…Suzaku, what are you crying about?"

"Nothing…" he murmured in a broken voice.

"Stand up."

Suzaku did as he was told. He had been crying.

Lelouch pointed to the bathroom. "Go wipe your face. We'll tell everyone that you had to go potty really badly…and then you'll owe me an explanation, okay?"

The Japanese boy nodded and turned to go to the bathroom.

* * *

Nobody questioned Suzaku about his "potty" problem any further. Embarrassed, Suzaku blushed madly as he told the siblings, but Lelouch had to struggle to keep himself from laughing.

Both the boys doubted that any of them bought it, but none of them made an effort to let that be known so they dismissed it and everyone spent the rest of the time, playing truth or dare in the living room. It had been in the middle of Suzaku's turn and he was blindfolded when a maid called, "It's past your curfews! I better hear everyone snoring by 11:00 sharp!"

"Scatter, Team No Maids Allowed!" Euphemia yelled, jumping to her feet suddenly. She grabbed Cornelia and Nunnally's arms, pulling them out of the room. "To the chamber of secrets!"

Only the boys remained as Lelouch untied Suzaku's blindfold.

"Chamber of secrets?" The Japanese boy asked. "Team No Maids Allowed?"

Schneizel shrugged. "It's a mere childish game that Euphy thought up. Apparently the maids are evil and try to send us to our deaths…or technically speaking, to bed, and we; Team No Maids Allowed, are supposed to not let them do so."

"And the chamber of secrets?"

"The basement," Lelouch answered.

Suzaku raised an eyebrow. "Ah."

A tall maid with short, black hair tied into a bun came and stopped at the doorway, staring at them "I suppose none of you are going to your chamber of secrets?"

"I never did in the first place, Ms. Harrison," Odysseus said, getting up and exiting the room. "Good night, everyone."

Schneizel stood up as well and started to leave. "For once, I am a little tired. I think I'll avoid the being yelled at part and just go to sleep." He glanced back at Suzaku. "You'll have to teach me more about the Japanese culture soon." With that, he left, not giving the brunette an opportunity to respond.

* * *

Suzaku stared up at the ceiling in the darkness of his new room. He couldn't sleep. How could he? He still wasn't used to his new life in Europe. Why would he be? This was all forced on him and after three years of coping; he still felt as terrified as that historic day when his home was invaded.

The soldiers just barged into his home, dared to put their dirty, gloved hands on his family, held them a gun point, physically abused them when they didn't listen, even used him as a way to make them submissive. How useless he felt then.

They were dragged, pushed, shoved, probed into lines, marched to ships and compacted into tiny areas. He had to watch his family get taken away from him, had to watch as other children around his age, older or younger, suffered the same fate. He had to hear the depressing pleads of, "I miss my mommy!" or "Where's my daddy?" or even "Mr. Soldier, where are you taking my grandparents?"

Then he had to sit, had to wait, with all the time in the world to reflect on that.

Next, he and others were restrained with cuffs and marched in lines in front of other people, being watched like a group of celebrities, but shoved like a herd of sheep.

And for the following three years, he trained. As young as he was, 10 years old, he trained like a military soldier. And if that didn't make things worse, he wasn't even in the youngest group. Kids who were 4 or even 5 years his juniors, faced the same things Suzaku did and were treated like a military personal.

By the age of 16 or 17, one was sent off to join the Britannian military, whether they wanted to or not.

Suzaku wiped his now almost watery eyes with the sleeve of his pajamas.

If he hadn't been picked by Lelouch, he'd train for a few more years before ending up within the Britannian military. He wasn't scared to fight for a country, he just didn't believe in forcing one to do so…especially if it were a country that took the freedom of one's people from them.

Suzaku's train of thought was broken when he heard his door open up slowly, creaking. The boy quickly and quietly turned away, lying on his side and pretending to be asleep. He heard the sound of someone tiptoeing up, and wondered if it were a maid checking up on him.

Expecting her to leave, Suzaku waited, holding his breath.

The noise grew louder. Were they getting closer?

A hand shook him.

The Japanese boy sat up, smacked the hand away and tackled the yelping figure down, pinning both of their arms down. "Who are you and what are you…" he trailed off and squinted in the darkness, giving the little wrists in his hands a squeeze. "Wait a minute…"

"Suzaku, it's me! Lelouch."

* * *

**I hope no mistakes were present! . but there may be since I skimmed. It's late though and I, unfortunately have to wake up early...thanks, mom.**

**Anyway, review! :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Strong Like You

**Sorry if there are any mistakes! I was going to re-read it, but then word froze on me, had to restart my laptop, lost half the chapter (which is a really long one for me…probably my new high score!) almost went into depression, got it back, thanked baby jesus, and lost the will to go over it xD**

**Anyway, chapter 3 guys! :D**

* * *

"Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I scared you?" Lelouch questioned, raising an eyebrow at the Japanese boy. As if he made his point, he said nothing further and changed the subject. "On a different matter, you do know why I'm here, right?"

In the dimly lit room with only a lamp as a source of light, Suzaku unconsciously made a face. Of course he knew, but he had hoped that Lelouch wouldn't have remembered. Having had lost it like that, suddenly running out of the room, crying in the bathroom and isolating himself from everyone else out of embarrassment. He didn't want to talk about why that happened, but…

He turned his head to look at Lelouch and came face to face with him. The amethyst eyes were trained right on him and probably had been for a while now. The Britannian had a burning gaze; one that said, _you're going to have to tell me if you want me to leave._

"Yes…" Suzaku finally answered.

"Well?"

* * *

_The seven year old Kaguya pulled at the sleeve of Suzaku's kimono, urging him to get up from his sitting position outside of the Kururugi Shrine. He had been enjoying the beauty of nature with his eyes closed, just listening to the sound of it, when the optimistic and loud girl started to pull him from his calm zone. "Come on, SuuuzaaaKU! Sayoko, made her homemade mac and cheese again!" Her bottom lip quivered when she began to realize that the older boy hadn't even budged from her yanking. "She won't serve me any until you come inside and join us! I'm hungry!" She pouted._

_Even with his eyes closed, he just merely smiled, finding amusement in annoying the mistress._

"_This is why I don't like staying with you guys!" She retorted, smacking Suzaku on the shoulder. Of course she was only kidding when she said that, and Suzaku knew it. If Sayoko didn't ask, she always invited herself. She loved spending time with Suzaku and Sayoko._

_The small girl turned her back to the boy and crossed her arms childishly. "So mean."_

_Suzaku, who had been peeking at her the entire time through his seemingly closed eyelids, opened his eyes and smiled, standing up and playfully sweeping Kaguya off her feet bridal style. _

"_Ah!"_

"_I'm so mean?" _

"_Ehehehehehehe!"_

_He carried her inside and plopped her down on her behind next to the table. At that moment, Sayoko, a maid who happily served the Kururugi Shrine, came walking in with plates of mac and cheese and glanced at the two. "Oh, perfect timing. I see you succeeded in your mission, Lady Kaguya."_

_The girl grinned, scratching the back of her head as she slipped into a more respectful sitting position. "Yep. Suzaku can't resist this face." She puckered her lips and batted her eyelashes._

"_Gross," The emerald-eyed boy said._

"_Hey!"_

_Sayoko laughed, placing the plates of food down on the table. "Well both of you enjoy, okay?" She bowed to them quickly before leaving the room._

_ ~OoOo~ Mere Hours Later ~OoOoO~ _

_Suzaku woke up to the sound of Sayoko's urgent voice and her small hands shaking his shoulders quite violently. Being a light sleeper, it didn't take him long to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Huh?"_

"_We're going. Your father isn't here so all we can do is hope that he's safe," The maid was saying as he looked over to see her packing some clothing into a bag. Kaguya stood close by with her own bag; she was wiping away runaway tears and choking on small sobs, reminding herself that she couldn't be too loud. She went over to Suzaku and clung onto him._

"_What's going on?" The Japanese boy asked. He didn't understand why the two were acting like this. Before he had fell asleep, they both seemed happy, but now, neither one of them had a smile on their faces. Kaguya was crying and Sayoko was less calm than usual._

"_They've invaded us," Sayoko said, finishing up with the packing and zipping up the bag._

"_Britannia?"_

"_Yes!" She hissed, standing with the bag in her hand and one other, Suzaku noticed, on her back. "Keep Kaguya close and follow me." The woman hurried out of the room and the boy broke free of the seven year olds hold, took hold of her hand and followed behind._

_Just as the maid opened up the door, a suited man came in and rammed into her with his shoulder. It was a soldier, and he had a gun. Kaguya screamed and Suzaku had to hit her to shut her up. That kind of thing could've easily made him freak and shoot. He tried to stay calm and guarded Kaguya with his body._

"_Hands up!" The soldier insisted, pointing his gun at them._

_Suzaku rose his hands up in surrender, his eyes catching a swift movement of a figure._

_Sayoko came up from behind and grabbed the man in a choke hold which resulted in him dropping his weapon in order to use his free hands to pull at her arm. "Go! I'll keep him here!"_

"_Where would we go?" Suzaku inquired. "We can't leave yo-"_

"_I SAID GO!"_

_The Japanese boy heard the desperation in Sayoko's voice and pulled Kaguya towards the door, but as if on cue, three more soldiers came into the scene, blocking the children's escape route._

_Two raised their guns; one trained on Sayoko and the struggling soldier, the other on Suzaku and Kaguya who backed up once more, their hands up._

"_Get them." One said._

_At the order, two soldiers pried Kaguya and Suzaku away from each other which took longer than it should have; all Sayoko could do was watch. The seven year old continued to kick and scream, reaching out for Suzaku even after having been separated and it took a gun to her forehead to shut her up which angered the brunette deeply, but being ten years old, knew he couldn't do anything about it._

"_Now you," The soldier said assertively. "Let that man go and we won't go to drastic measures."_

_Sayoko, thinking of the safety of Kaguya and Suzaku, did as she was told and then raised her hands, sullenly eyeing the man she had released as he took long gulps of air._

"_Good…"_

"_Uh, sir?" Said the soldier holding Suzaku._

"_Yes?"_

"_I think I've seen this boy before."_

_Sayoko's face paled._

"_Yeah, and? We don't have all day."_

"_He's the son Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi."_

_That must have been Sayoko's limit because she suddenly rushed towards Suzaku as if in attempt to rescue him, but was stopped by the soldier she had hostage not too long ago. The tables had turned; he now had Sayoko in his grasp instead. "Let's not be radical now," he said as he caught her._

_The maid struggled on, but to no avail._

"_As we were saying before we were so rudely interrupted," continued the leading soldier. He glanced at Suzaku from behind his helmet. "I don't think it matters much who he is…but Emperor Charles might think otherwise." He strolled over almost causally and seized a hold of Suzaku who resisted as best he could, but was soon thrown over the man's shoulder like a sack. "I'll report in. Sweep the surrounding area before you head to the ships."_

_He started to walk away and Suzaku kicked his feet and punched the soldier's back with closed fists. Both Kaguya and Sayoko struggled with him. _

_As he passed by, Kaguya somehow broke free if only for a second and reached out to Suzaku. Her arm was grabbed and she was pulled back once more, but her and Suzaku's fingers just barely brushed._

_Just barely._

_That was the last memory Suzaku had before his days in Japan ended._

* * *

Suzaku had his eyes cast down the entire time, but when he finished, he looked up to see Lelouch frowning with a disheartened expression on his face. The prince could no longer hold Suzaku's gaze and turned to watch his hands instead which rested in his lap. He didn't know what to say, but it was probably better to speak than to let the silence take over.

"And you don't know where they are? You've never seen them in the military training facility?"

"I wouldn't see Sayoko for a fact…children and adults were separated there, but Kaguya…" Suzaku shook his head despondently and then slumped forward. There was a long pause and both the boys merely sat there, looking down. Lelouch was the one to break the hushed atmosphere, looking at the male with a renewed sense of respect.

"You know, I think I made the right choice."

The Japanese boy blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Picking you as my bodyguard."

When the brunette looked up, Lelouch just smiled.

"Why?"

"Because you're such a strong person…" The raven haired boy grew a melancholy sort of expression and that smile he had faded. "To be honest, I'm not like you. I'm not strong. I mean, I need you, don't I?"

"That's because people are targeting you and your family!"

"But if I could defend myself, then I wouldn't need help…" Lelouch sighed. "I just…wish I could voice how I feel and stop playing naïve. I want everyone, my father especially, to know what I'm actually thinking."

"Playing naïve?" Suzaku inquired. "How so?"

"I can't speak my mind," Lelouch replied, his eyes flickering with sadness. He appeared in thought as if trying to pick his next words carefully. "Ever since Japan was taken over, my views on my father changed. I had grown up, being told by so many about how great of a man my father is, and of course I believed them. I was young and I didn't understand what he was truly doing." He shrugged. "But as I watched that scene from three years ago and heard all those mocking voices of people behind me, I realized how naïve to the situation I really was. And then I saw you."

Lelouch glanced over to see the Japanese boy paying close attention now. His emerald eyes were blinking in anticipation. "Me?"

The little prince chuckled. "Yes…and I was impressed by how you acted that day. You were at the bottom, but you still stood up for the right thing. I wanted to be able to do that. I wanted to be able to look my father square in the face and tell him how wrong he is. But… whenever I want to say something about it to him…it never comes out."

Suzaku gave Lelouch an encouraging smile which surprised the Britannian boy as it was the most he's smiled since coming here. "Maybe you're not meant to speak it outright like that."

"Huh?"

"I'll give you an example," Suzaku said, pausing to think for a moment. "Like me! I speak my mind through words sometimes, but I also do through punches and kicks." Lelouch tilted his head and the emerald eyed male sighed. "Okay, if I were to say something rude about Nunnally, what would you do?"

The raven-haired boy scowled. "I'd hit you!"

"And what are you conveying through that?"

In the following seconds, a light bulb flashed in his mind. "…..Oh! So what you're saying is…I should hit…my father?"

Suzaku was already nodding his head smugly with a smirk. "Yes." Then came to the realization. "Wait, no! You don't always have to convey emotions through violence! I was just a…bad example."

"I'm only kidding~!" Lelouch clowned. "Besides, I'm not very athletic or physically fit. I hit like a girl."

As if to show the brunette what he meant, he smacked his shoulder. "Did that hurt?"

"No."

Lelouch's eye twitched a little. He hit Suzaku again. "How about now?"

"You really do hit like a girl," the Japanese boy noted.

"Shut up!"

* * *

The next day, early in the morning, Lelouch slipped back into Suzaku's room and woke him up. Everybody else was still asleep and the Britannian boy wanted to get some fresh air. Despite his reluctance to get up, Suzaku did anyway since it was his responsibility to make sure Lelouch didn't get harmed. With that, they both got dressed and left the mansion.

The brown-haired male expected to just be standing in the front yard or something, but Lelouch gestured for him to follow, taking them to the back and into the garden which was rather large, not that it surprised him. What did surprise him was when Lelouch started to climb the fence to what looked like a forest behind. Suzaku was unenthusiastic about venturing there and begin to argue that they could find something a bit safer to do instead, but nothing stopped the prince. He told Suzaku that he'd gone here plenty of times before and that it was alright, especially now that he was with him.

Still averse to the idea, he hurried after Lelouch. "I have a bad feeling about this…"

"Don't be such a worrywart, Suzaku."

Though the sun was still young and rising, the light that was present illuminated the woodlands very nicely. They trudged on for quite a while in silence, starting to walk uphill, both taking in the beautiful surroundings, when suddenly Lelouch came to a stop and Suzaku almost bumped into him.

"What?"

The raven-haired boy shushed him and pointed towards a deer not too far ahead. "Look," he whispered.

The grazing animal was white-tailed with a couple of dots on its brown coat. It was easy to tell she was a female due to the obvious absence of antlers and Suzaku found himself staring at her in awe. He had never seen a deer in person before and the sight of it amazed him.

To make things even better, a baby came trotting up beside the mother who glanced at it for a second before returning to her grazing. Lelouch stepped closer. "Suzaku, it's a fawn…!"

"I know…" The emerald eyed boy murmured. "It's beautiful…"

"I wish I had my camera…" Lelouch huffed. "I'm going to pet it." He started to inch forward.

But Suzaku grabbed him. "You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"The mom is right there! She'll get pissed or something!"

Amethyst eyes rolled. "What is she going to do? You just have to look out for the Bucks." Lelouch shook Suzaku off and started sneaking up again. Both the doe and the fawn looked up.

"Hi there," Lelouch said to the animals, moving up ever so slowly. "Can I pet you?"

The baby fawn stepped towards Lelouch who started to reach out.

"There we go…"

His fingers were only inches away from the fawn's head. An irritated doe started to get close.

Having a terribly bad hunch, Suzaku was just about to grab Lelouch and force him away if he had to when there was a sound of bushes crackling and twigs snapping.

He and Lelouch turned in the direction of the sound.

Suzaku bit his lip. "Oh…shit."

Standing close by and peevishly eyeing the two boys with its black pupils, was a Buck.

"Lelouch…" Suzaku whispered.

The raven-haired boy's voice cracked when he responded with, "just don't move…"

That idea crashed and burned rather quickly.

The angered male deer lowered its head and charged.

"SUZAKU!" Lelouch cried.

Despite the realization of its speed compared to theirs, Suzaku did what he could. He clung to Lelouch and hurled to the side. Having forgotten that they had hiked up, Suzaku was surprised when they ended up tumbling downhill, screaming as they did.

The expected stop came as a plot twist to them both when they were thrown into a shockingly deep lake. When they broke through the surface and were embraced by the water, they were separated.

Lelouch frantically thrashed his around, kicking his legs. The fear caused him to cry out for Suzaku. His mouth opened and water took advantage of it, starting to fill his lungs. He fought. He tried. He tried to be strong like Suzaku. But it wasn't enough.

He couldn't swim.

* * *

**Oooooo! Cliffie! I'm in trouble now ^o^**

**Lelouch's newest song: nanana REVIEW! *something something something***

…**.that's all he has so far ._.**

**My next updates may be a while since I'm trying to follow a new rule my friend came up with: write the next chapter before updating and school is coming back up soon. Sadly. xD**

**But I hope everyone has a Happy New Years! :D**


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